Mockingjay: An Extended Epilogue
by maddy32011
Summary: This is currently a angsty/fluffy multipchapter; that will progress into a full blown huge extended epilogue. It stays with the storyline and characters mentioned in the actual epilogue, but like any good Hunger Games fan, I know that we were all craving more, and hopefully this will fulfill everyone's need for a happy, but real ending! (Lemons/Smut/Fluff/Angst: Warning!) (:
1. Chapter 1

**Mockingjay: An Extended Epilogue **

With every tick of the minute hand, I could feel her slipping away from me. I'm stuck in a dark, senseless abyss, my body feels numb, but my mind is on fire. Memories of her, of _us_, flood my consciousness, and the pain of my knees crashing against the floor are nothing compared to the bright flashing and conflicting venom-induced memories that are ransacking my sanity. I know that what I'm seeing is false; that Katniss loves me, and would never betray me like these planted images running though my brain are trying to convince me to believe. I reach up to grab the edge of the kitchen counter, trying to find something to pull me back to reality, and out of this shiny-nightmare. But instead of the cool feel of the sleek counter top, I feel something warm and unbelievably soft. Grasping it softly, I feel myself being turned around; the soft scent of sweet vanilla perfume tinged with a woodsy musk filled my nose, and I felt her arms wrap around me, pulling me close to her.

"Peeta, it's okay. I'm here now; _we're here. Together. _I love you, Peeta. Please come back to me."

She must have heard me when I had fallen to the ground, and came downstairs to make sure I was alright; even though it was nearly 3 in the morning. My episodes had gotten much better in the months since Katniss and I started living together. They were much less frequent, and it was much easier for me to separate what did and didn't happen. Not that what _did _happen was much easier to handle. Katniss still woke up in blood-curdling screams and sweat because of horrible nightmares of the games and the war; although hers were much less regular now too. I loved this woman so much, and although we were still so young, we had been through more than anyone I've ever known.

I hugged her back tightly, neither of us caring that we were sitting tangled together on the cold kitchen floor in the middle of the night. I finally picked my head up, feeling the last spews of the episode fading. Her beautiful gray eyes were clouded with worried sadness, and even a twinge of fear. I hated seeing her hurting for me, but the same look was always in her eyes after one of my episodes, and I knew that she will always be afraid that one of these days I won't be coming back to her, that I'll be lost in these clouds of venom and hate-tainted darkness forever. And I didn't blame her for that. How could I, when I had been so far from myself and so hostile and hateful towards her in the months after my return from Snow's torture?

"I love you so much, Katniss," I whispered softly, still looking into her eyes. I could see them softening at my words; relief flooding over her face that I was okay.

"I love you too, Peeta," she murmured quietly; a serious expression suddenly coming over her beautiful features, as she looked away towards the dark window on the other side of the room. "I'm so afraid I'm going to lose you," she said in a quiet, shaky voice. "That one day you won't come back to me, that I'll never get you back. I love you so much; I can't lose you again, Peeta. Once was already more than I can take, I couldn't go-"

I cut her off; gently tilting her head towards mine, and connecting our lips in a sweet, loving kiss. "You could go on without me Katniss," I said sternly, looking into her teary eyes, although I knew she'd been trying to hold it back. "You are the strongest, most beautiful woman I have ever known, and I know that you could conquer the world if you wanted to- whether you had me or not. But you don't have to worry about that, ever, ever again." I declared, leaning my face closer to hers, so my mouth was just inches away. "I won't ever leave you Katniss. Not only are you the love of my life, but you _are _my life, now. I'm the one who couldn't ever go on without _you_. _You_ are the one who pulls me out of even my deepest, cruelest darkness, and _you_ are my light."

I captured her lips in another kiss, but this one was different from the first. Full of passion and need. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and stood on her knees as I backed us up against the island in the middle of the kitchen, and she sat on my lap, straddling me as my hands tangled in the loose soft waves of her brown hair. In this moment I knew I wanted to be with this woman for the rest of my life; for the rest of eternity.

_**Alright guys, so this is my first shot at a Hunger Games FanFic using this site, so I hope you enjoyed! I'm definitely looking to make this a huge multi-chapter story, so let me know what you guys want out of this next chapter! I know I left this first chapter with a bit of an open ending, but please don't hesitate to review with where you want this next chapter to go! All reviews do matter, and are always taken into consideration, and favorites/follows are deeply appreciated! I will update quickly, because i'm excited to continue this story, but I want your thoughts and opinions!_


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss's POV

I woke to the warmth of sun rays on my face, Buttercup at my feet, and Peeta's soft, toned arm around my waist. Glancing over at the clock; I see 9:00AM glaring at me in bright red letters. I turned over in our king-sized bed as delicately as possible, trying my hardest not to wake Peeta; to no avail. He's the world's lightest sleeper, and I can't shake the feeling that that's probably partially due to my ever-present nightmares, and his need to comfort me in my awakening from them; no matter what time it is. His dazzling blue eyes flutter open softly, a sweet, boyish smile stretching across his lips as he looks at me.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he murmured in his soft, husky morning voice that I loved so much.

"Hey, sleepy-head," I said softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I know you need to rest up; it's been a long week for you at the bakery." In the months after Peeta's return to District 12, he managed to completely rebuild the family bakery from what little ash and rubble remained. Things have been picking up here, especially lately. At first, not really to anyone's amazement, nothing was getting done. It was just too painful. The bodies, the ashes, the memories, it was too much for anyone to really want to deal with. But eventually, we found the strength. The bodies, or more accurately, skeletons, that were recovered from were buried in the huge field near what used to be the outskirts of the District. But we're free to go where we please now, the woods, the lake, and everything else that we used to be fenced off from us are now free range for eveyone. Beautiful yellow wildflowers grow in the field, where they never used to grow before. It's like even the plants know that we're finally free.

"Ehh, it's alright. I needed to get up and go to the bakery this morning anyways," he said, getting off the bed and heading towards the dresser that held his clothes. He insisted that I got to use the closet.

"Really? You have to go in on a Saturday?" I said, getting out of bed, and wrapping my arms around him while he searched the drawers for something to wear.

"Yeah, but only for an hour or so. It shouldn't be long at all. I told Hazelle that I'd make Rory a birthday cake, free of charge, and I need to finish up some of the icing details on it before she comes to pick it up today."

"Awh, well that was nice of you. I actually had forgotten that it was Rory's birthday today. I should probably pick him up a gift; I need to go see Hazelle anyway. We can walk to the Town Square together since we're both headed that way," I said, leaning my head around and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I'll go start breakfast, you can jump in the shower."

He chuckled at the thought of me making breakfast. "Alright, I'll be quick. Try not to catch the house on fire, love." He winked at me and headed towards the bathroom.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "I know I'm not the world's best cook, but I don't think it's _that _bad." I thought to myself, still smiling internally. As I walked into the kitchen, I could feel Buttercup's raggedy fur brushing up against my legs, meowing to let me know that I wasn't the only one who wanted breakfast this morning. Although he had always hated me before; after Prim's... passing... he seemed to change his mind about me. Tolerating me at first, but I can tell he's grown to me, and I have to say, I've grown on him too. He reminds me of Prim. Of the good days, when she was young and innocent... alive. Before time and tragedy turned my little baby sister into a big-girl. A life saver. A martyr.

I brushed the thoughts away, as I opened the cabinets and pulled out the tea kettle and some packets of green tea. It wasn't that I wanted to pretend like she didn't exist, it's just that I'm finally starting to learn to be happy again. I spent months locked up in a room never changing, bathing, or even moving; just thinking about her. About everything I'd been through. Everything Peeta had been through. I loved her more than ever, but I know that she would want me to be happy, and the only way that that was going to be even remotely possible was if I tried to put the past behind me.

The tea was just about done, and there were biscuits- that's dough Peeta had premade- in the oven and sausage and eggs done and set on a pretty glass plates on the table; when Peeta came downstairs. He had on a new pair of jeans, and a cute gray sweater I had got him for Christmas. His wet hair was tousled and messy; he was desperately in need of a haircut, but he knew I loved his hair longer, so he was trying to hold off for as long as he could stand it before getting in cut. He looked adorable as always, and when he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, I couldn't help but turn around and crash my lips to his in a passionate kiss. After a few minutes, the timer for the biscuits went off, and we both pulled back, breathless.

"What was that for?" He asked, trying to catch his breath, a lustful twinkle in his eye.

"Oh nothing special. I just love you, that's all. And you look especially adorable when you get out of the shower with you're hair all crazy, and I just couldn't resist!" I rambled, smiling, and looking up at him through my lashes; before turning around to shut up that blasted timer, and pull the hot, flaky biscuits out of the oven.

"Mmm, well I love you too," he whispered in my ear before kissing me on the cheek, and grabbing cups for the tea. "Everything looks really good by the way, Kat! You actually did a really good job."

"Gosh, don't act so surprised!" I joked, both of us laughing and heading towards our ridiculously large and fancy dining room table. Since the Capital had built all of the houses in the Victor's Village, they had furnished them all too. Everything was lush, and expensive, even the down to the feather-filled pillows on our bed and the soft, fluffy cushions on our couch in the living room. It was nice, for sure; and most definitely a ginormous step up from the small, rickety houses Peeta and I had grown up in, but it was too much for our taste, and the fact that anything reminiscent of the Capital, especially something this personal to our lives was still in existence was off-putting to say the least.

Breakfast was delicious, and I must say, even I was surprised. The rest of the day went by smoothly, Peeta and I walked to the new Town's Square together, and he went off the finish Rory's cake, while I went in search for the perfect gift. I finally decided on getting him an expensive brand-new, handcrafted bow with sharp new arrows to match; it's not like Peeta and I were going to miss the money anyway; we certainly had enough to go around. I had been teaching Rory how to hunt for the past few weeks on Sundays, when Gale and I used to meet up secretly in the woods. Rory enjoyed it a lot, and I knew he'd love the gift; which he did, very much. Hazelle came back later with the cake, and Peeta came too, knowing I'd be here. The cake was a great surprise for Rory, he'd never gotten to have one before, with how tight money was for their family, for all of us; and Hazelle was very appreciative for everything.. she always was. Peeta came by often to drop off free bread and pastries for them, and I stopped by occasionally to give Hazelle some must-needed coins. She was a single mother of multiple children, and she was such a sweet and giving person. She of all people didn't deserve to have to struggle.

Peeta and I headed back to the Victor's Village after we'd stayed for a few hours, gave our hugs, and said our goodbyes. It was a chilly evening even for late October, and I clung to Peeta the whole way home. The sun was just starting to set when walked through the door, a beautiful symphony of pinks, oranges, and purples casting across the sky. It reminded me of something magnificent Peeta would paint.

We ate a simple stew for dinner; nothing too special because we were still pretty full from all the cake and other foods we had had over at Hazelle's. Peeta let me go take a shower while he cleaned up the kitchen, and I barely had time to change into a new pair of panties and one of his big t-shirts, get a glass of water from downstairs, and make it back in time before he was out of the shower.

He always slept in just his boxer's, and when we crawled into bed together, I laid my head on his chest, and he wrapped his strong arms around my tiny frame, leaning his head down to softly kiss my lips. I sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck, while his hands found my hips, deepening the kiss. I felt his tongue brush lightly against my bottom lip, wordlessly asking me to open my mouth; and I complied gladly. As things became more heated, I moved, straddling him, just like yesterday except this time, I could _feel _that he was just as turned on as I was, and I knew that tonight was going to be different.

His fingers toyed with the bottom of my shirt, and he pulled away from the kiss, looking me in the eyes, silently asking me for permission.

_**I know! I suckkkk for ending this chapter here, but I'm hoping that maybe ending it in the middle of something hot, with the promise that it'll be continued will push you guys to actually review so I can get some motivation to get the next chapter out more quickly. ;D_

_Sneaky, I know, but there was only one last time! I do deeply appreciate all of the views, follows, and favorites though, and a special shout-out to 'Safeandsound14' for doing all of the above! Thanks you guys, I love you all! Please remember to review, favorite, and follow, and I'll get this show back on the road as soon as possible! (: _

_-Also, tell me what you want me to do in the next chapter as far as ^^this goes. I'm debating between keeping this rated T and skipping ahead to the next morning or at least keeping everything pretty non-explict and changing the rating to M and making the next chapter pretty lemony, so please let me know what you think! Like I said before, all reviews are taken into consideration!_


	3. Chapter 3

**-Hey guys, just wanted to announce that I am officially turning this into a hugeeee multi-chapter extended epilogue. I've noticed that a lot of people are really craving a sweet/sexy but real/angsty longer version of the end of the book, so I hope this does it for you guys! As long as you guys keep reviewing that you want more, I'll keep writing more!**

_Review from previous chapter: (Katniss's POV)_

_ He always slept in just his boxer's, and when we crawled into bed together, I laid my head on his chest, and he wrapped his strong arms around my tiny frame, leaning his head down to softly kiss my lips. I sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck, while his hands found my hips, deepening the kiss. I felt his tongue brush lightly against my bottom lip, wordlessly asking me to open my mouth; and I complied gladly. As things became more heated, I moved, straddling him, just like yesterday except this time, I could **feel** he was just as turned on as I was, and I knew that tonight was going to be different._

_ His fingers toyed with the bottom of my shirt, and he pulled away from the kiss, looking me in the eyes, silently asking me for permission._

Chapter 3 (Peeta's POV)

I looked Katniss's gray Seam eyes- dark, and clouded by lust- I needed to make sure that this is what she wanted. I knew that this would be her first time; and though it was going to be mine too, I knew it wasn't exactly the same thing. We had came close multiple times, but it never really felt right. I couldn't explain why tonight was different, it just felt like we were exactly where we needed to be in our relationship, and I knew for a fact that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with; I just needed to know that she wanted the same thing.

She shook her head, still looking me straight in the eyes. "This is what I want, Peeta. I want to be with you; in every way humanly possible. I _need _to be with you."

And that's all I needed to hear. I kissed her again, before reaching my hands back down to the hem of her shirt, and pulling it swiftly over her head. Even though she knew it was coming, it was like the realization of what was going on hit her suddenly, and she wrapped her arms around her mostly naked body, covering her breasts; and looking down at the comforter, with almost what seemed like a look of shame; blushing a deeper shade of red that I honestly thought existed. I knew that she was self-conscious about the scars that covered her body. Burn scars patched her occasionally from her neck all the way down to her toes; and then there was the wear and tear from being through two nationally televised fights-to-the-death. And it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was raw... _real_. Something we've had very little of in our lives since we'd been drafted to world's cruelest national pass-time. It showed her journey, _our _journey; and it showed what a warrior she truly was. I had scars too, from the fire; and I had a prosthetic leg, for heaven's sake. She certainly didn't have anything to be ashamed of. She was perfect.

"Katniss, baby." I said, putting my finger under her chin and pulling her head up until our eyes locked. "I love you. Don't you ever cover yourself. You are the absolute most stunning woman I have ever seen; our scars match. They show what we've been through; what we've been through _together. _They're perfect for us. _You're _perfect for me."

Her eyes softened, and her hands drifted down from herself and wrapped themselves around my neck. I couldn't help but take in the sight of her beautiful body. She opted out of a bra; I mean we had been planning on heading to bed, after all; and she was left in only a small, black lacy pair of panties. She was the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

"I know. I love you too. Make love to me, Peeta Mellark." I could feel myself harden at her words. I could die a happy man. Right hear, right now. Her small, nimble hands drifted down from my neck, and rubbed down my chest and abs, as she took in the sight of me. I was still trying to recover from the sight of her beautiful body and perfect breasts when she crashed her lips against mine, taking me by sweet surprise. I internally kicked myself for letting her catch me off guard, and take control. I wanted this night to be all about her. I sat up on my knees, pushing her back a little, and turning us so that her back was to the pillows before swiping my tongue across her bottom lip. She opened her mouth slightly, and her tongues danced back and fourth fighting for dominance. Katniss loved to be in control most of the time, but to my surprise, she gave in quickly; and I laughed in my head at the thought of Katniss thinking it was hot for me to dominate her. She fell back lightly against the pillows and I climbed on top of her, trailing kisses down her neck, nipping and sucking on her sweet spots before making my was down to her perky, perfectly-round breasts. Taking the right one in my hand, and the left one gently in my mouth, I sucked and twisted, making her gasp. It only encouraged me more, and I licked around her nipple before biting and pulling it slightly, and doing the same to the other; resulting in Katniss making the sexiest noise my ears have ever has the pleasure of hearing.

"Mmmm, as amazing as it is, stop teasing, Peeta." she half-said, half-moaned. "I need you, all of you." God, this woman was going to be the end of me.

"Your wish is my command, princess," I whispered softly, smiling at her, before reaching between us and pulling her moist panties from her tiny body; tossing them somewhere out of sight and out of mind; my boxers quickly joining them on the floor, before I reached over and pulled a condom out of the drawer of our bedside table.

"Mmm, prepared, are we?" giggled Katniss as I ripped the packet open and pulled onto my rock hard member.

"Katniss, I've been in love with you since I was 5. Of course I'm prepared." I laughed out, before looking at her seriously. "Are you sure about this? 100% sure?" I asked, looking her in the face.

"I'm in love with you; I've never been so sure of anything in my life." And there it was. The final piece of permission I needed.

"I know this is going to hurt, so when it does, scratch your nails down my back to make it even," I told her. I hated that it was going to hurt her, but I was hoping it'd be worth it to her in the end.

"Peeta, considering what we've lived through, I'm pretty sure this is going to be comparable to a walk in the park,"she myself up with her entrance, before pushing into her slowly, making sure she had time to adjust. She scratched down my back a little, and by the look on her face and the gasp the escaped her lips, I could tell it hurt, but that she was trying not to make it obvious.

"Is it too much? Do you want me to stop?" I asked quickly. She felt amazing, but no pleasure of mine would ever make it worth putting her through suffering.

"No, no; it's fine," she winced. "Just go slowly." I nodded, and pushed in agonizingly slow, and after what seemed like hours, but was more likely closer to maybe 45 seconds, I was completely inside her. I trusted slowly at first, until her pain subsided; but when I heard her moan loudly in pleasure, I started to pick up the pace. I planted, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses on her neck as we both came close to our peaks. She screamed my name out loudly as she came, and I couldn't stifle the way I groaned her name when I did the same thing in my final thrust. I stayed above her for a few moments, both of us trying to catch our breaths as our sweat-sheened bodies recovered; before pulling out of her, and tying up the condom and putting it into the trash beside the bed.

As I laid back onto the bed, her head made it's way to my chest, and we ended up in the same position we had started out in. ""I love you so much Peeta." She whispered softly, looking up at me with sleepy eyes.

"I love you too, Katniss. More than anything." I ran my fingers through her long soft waves that always resulted from her cute little braids; and kissed her on the forehead before we both drifted off into a deep, euphoric sleep.

_**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know it was pretty lemony; so I'm still debating about changing the rating; especially considering there's more to come. ;D Let me know what you think, or if you have any requests for the next chapter! Please follow, favorite, and especially review! I love and deeply appreciate the support; not to mention it motivates me to get the next chapter out a little faster. (; Thank you for reading, love you guys! 3_


	4. Chapter 4

**Peeta's POV**

I awoke from the most blissful sleep I've had since before the Games to the sound of Buttercup hopping into the bed and onto Katniss, meowing loudly the whole way. This seems to be a rather common occurrence lately, ever since they've seemed to have grown fonder in the recent months. And while the wake-up calls can certainly be aggravating sometimes, I'm glad that they've grown on each other since Prim's passed. It sounds silly, but I truly think that Buttercup makes Kat feel better about the whole situation... maybe just the reminiscent of Prim that remains in his tangled pumpkin-like fur, and soft, grungy meows.

I feel Katniss stir, and turn to face her just as her eyes flutter open softly; adjusting to the light shining into the room between the blinds. She's so beautiful in the morning. Especially _this _morning. Her soft waves are in slight tangles in the back of her head from where my fingers wove into her long, silky tresses last night, and her small, but perfectly-proportioned naked body just has a soft, heavenly glow about it in this dewy, early morning light. She smiles sheepishly as she takes in the sight of my equally-naked body, and blushes deeply when she sees my gaze upon her.

She pulls the blankets up over us, knowing we can't get too carried away because unfortunately, it's Sunday. Which means we have Haymitch duty. I shouldn't say that, because it isn't all bad. Sure, he has his bad days; but don't we all? His are definitely more frequent that your average person, but what can you really expect from a man who's gone through what he has? Especially since he's been getting much better lately. I laugh at the thought, and Katniss looks over at me questioningly.

"It's just Haymitch," I laugh sleepily. "I was just thinking about him herding those geese." She laughs at this too, because it truly is utterly hilarious. Don't get me wrong. we're both so glad that with the help of Hazelle, he's managed to find something in his life that can help pull him out of the dark, liquor-tainted nightmare he lives in; but that doesn't seem to stop either one of us from cracking up every time we see him out there with those silly geese, trying to feed them, and herd them back into the little pin he built for them. But at least on these days, we're assured that he's okay. That somehow, he didn't drink enough to kill himself the night before, and that his hangover wasn't so bad that he wasn't able to make it out into the sunlight and actually partially-participate in real life. It's days life these that give us hope.

After our laughs stifle and subside, I lean down and kiss her lightly on the forehead before getting out of bed to grab some clothes. "I'll go downstairs get some breakfast and pastries together to for us and to bring to Haymitch's today," I say softly as she gets out of the bed and heads towards the closet. "So you can go ahead and take a shower; i'll meet you downstairs when you're done, and we'll head out."

"Sounds good," she smiles; turning back to the closet and pulling out a pair of dark jeans and my favorite little white-and-gray-striped sweater that she wears. I couldn't help but bask in the sight of her beautiful exposed body for a moment before heading off towards the kitchen.

**Katniss's POV**

The wonderful scent of sweet strawberry pastries, and my favorite cheese buns fill the air as Peeta takes them out of the oven; just in time for me to get ready and make it downstairs. Peeta's long hair hangs in his face and his brow is creased in concentration as he leans over the counter; carefully icing delicate lines onto the warm pastries. I sit down on a stool on the other side of the counter, watching him intently. I've always loved to watch him work, but watching him bake is a totally different thing. You can see the passion and contentment in his eyes; and you know that he loves what he does. That's probably why everything he ever makes turns out so well. I lean over the counter as he's finishing up the last pastry, gently pushing his hair out of his eyes and kissing him sweetly, on the lips.

"You're so intense when you work," I say, trying my best to have some kind of cute or seductiveness in my voice. "It's adorable." He smiles at me with that perfect boyish grin of his.

"You're adorable! I love it when you wear your hair like that." he says, twirling a strand gently in his hand. I walked over to him, my hair sitting in long, silky brown waves across my shoulders and down my back.

"Well that's a miracle, considering all of the knots I had to brush out this morning, because of your eager fingers last night!" I say, winking at him.

"Oh, you're going to talk to be about eager fingers? You should see the scratches I have running down my back, that were caused by none other than _your _naughty self!" he says jokingly, pulling me into his arms as I lean my head back against his chest.

"Mmm, but you know you loved it." I say in a low, sexy tone, turning to face him, and knotting my fingers under the neckline of his sweater.

"Ahh, well I can't deny that." he smiles at me, before pulling me into a kiss. I press myself against him, trying to deepen the kiss, before he pushes the food on the counter aside and lifts me up on it; our lips never separating for a minute. Soon my our sweaters are off, leaving him shirtless, and me in a black, lacy cami. He's pressing into me too, both of us trying to relieve some of the pressure that's built up in our cores from our little chat and our increasingly heated kiss. He's tangling his finger's right back up into my hair, deepening the kiss furthermore, and my small hands are gently caressing his back, over his fresh scratches and toned muscles; when we suddenly hear a husky voice coming from the other side of the kitchen.

"Jeez, do you kids ever have any clothes on anymore?" he says loudly. "I could hear you guys going at it all night last night! Congrats on finally getting laid, Peeta! Took yah' long enough!" he laughs, walking across the kitchen my patting Peeta on the back.

"Haymitch! What the hell?! Have you ever heard of _knocking_?" I say furiously. He's always so nosy and rude, and he thinks it's funny! I look over at Peeta, who is obviously still in shock, his eyes are about as wide as quarters, and he has this completely mortifies look on his face. He grabs our sweaters quickly, shoving mine at me, before putting his own on. He still has that looks on his face, and Haymitch is laughing hysterically; when I get up and punch him on the shoulder. "Learn to knock before you go barging into people's private moments!" I yell angrily.

"That was certainly a private moment, all right!" he laughs uncontrollably, holding his shoulder.

When things finally calmed down, we all sat at the table in the kitchen, munching on all of the good stuff Peeta had made. He truly is a phenomenal baker. "Why are you even here, anyways?" I ask, looking at Haymitch questioningly. "We were just about to head over to your place."

"It looked like the only thing _you _were about to was get laid," he said, starting to laugh again, almost gagging on the cheese bun he was eating. I could feel my face heating up again; and Peeta noticed, deciding to step in, ignoring Haymitch's comment completely.

"How'd you even get up so early? You're usually passed out until at least 1 or 2."

I can tell Haymitch kind of internally laughed at this, but he kept a straight face. "I had to make sure I was sober enough to take care of the geese today; plus Hazelle is coming over later today to clean, so I figured it'd probably be a good idea not to be passed out and drunk on the floor," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I don't think that'd be the best idea." I said, equally as sarcastic. "So you did finally hire Hazelle to clean and cook for you?" He shook his head, taking another bite of his of his cheese bun. "That's good, I'm glad that she'll have another source of income coming in. They could definitely use it."

We spent the rest of the day talking casually about how thing's had been lately. Haymitch has been sober much more often in the recent weeks, and I definitely think that Hazelle's assistance has been a huge help for him. He stayed for dinner, and Peeta cooked up a deer I had caught earlier in the week with some vegetables from the new Hob and some herbs that Rory and I had collected in our time in the woods on last Sunday. We said our goodbyes just as the sun went down, and Peeta and I cuddled up on the big, soft couch in the living room, basking in the warmth of the fireplace, and just enjoying each other's company. Apart from the horrible, and still traumatically embarrassing start to our visit, it was all in all a really good day. Haymitch had been through a lot with Peeta and I; and we owed him everything in the world for what he did for us. He certainly had some definite rough patches, and could be a total ass, but Haymitch gave us a sense of conginuity in our lives in a strange sense; something I feel like we've been desperately without for a long time.

**_Alright guys, I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'm sooo sorry it took me so long to update this time! I know I usually try to take not longer than a day or two to get updates out, and this one ended up taking a couple of weeks! I was in the middle of moving across the country again, and with all the crazy stuff going on with school just starting this week, i've been crazy busy! But i'm going to be getting these next chapters out much more quickly if you guys help me! Please remember to follow/favorite/and especially review! You don't even have to be a member of the site to review! I just love hearing you guy's opinions, and it really does truly help me get new chapters out more quickly when you guys tell me what you want the next chapters to include! Espcially with this story in particular, where it's going to end up being so long; and idea's for interesting chapters get hard to come by! So please let me know! Lemons? Haymitch scenes? More fluffy scenes? More angsty scenes? Any different characters from the books you'd like me bring into this story? I want to know your thoughts! After all, I write these for you! I love you all, thanks for reading! 3_


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